BY MARK B. SOLOMON, SENIOR EDITOR
BUILDING FOR THE FUTURE
specialreport
from the
grounds up
Starbucks spent the past two
years revamping its supply chain.
Now, it seeks the next crop of
leaders to run it in the future.
Help Wanted: Seattle-based mega-brand seeks prospective
college graduates or graduate students to be groomed for the
next generation of supply chain management leadership.
Successful applicants will be highly motivated, possess a deep
knowledge of best practices, and have graduated at or near
the top of their class. Demonstration of leadership capabilities is preferred. Must be open to working in a dynamic culture in the United States and abroad.
P.S. Must love coffee.
SINCE THE SUMMER OF 2008, PETER
D. Gibbons has been focused on transforming Starbucks Coffee Co.’s once-struggling supply chain into a successful
enterprise that can stand the test of time.
Just two years later, the supply chain
overhaul is largely complete. But
Gibbons, the company’s executive vice
president of global supply chain operations, is not stopping there. He has
already embarked on the next and perhaps most ambitious and crucial phase of
his grand design: recruiting the best
young people to run that supply chain
after he and his peers are gone.
Throughout the fall, executives at
Seattle-based Starbucks have been fanning out across six schools—the names
of which Gibbons declined to identify—to interview undergraduates
and graduate students with backgrounds in logistics, engineering, and operations research.
From this process will come a
select group of young talent
who, starting in July 2011 and
continuing for an undetermined
number of years, will be hired and
groomed to head Starbucks’ supply
chain for perhaps as long as the next
two decades.
During the past two years, Gibbons
has imported professionals from the
outside to support his re-engineering
efforts. “Now, we want to grow our
own talent to support the growth of
our business, in North America and
globally, and to support normal staff
turnover,” he says. “Creating a strong
pipeline at all levels is part of our core
mission to improve service, lower cost,
and develop talent.”
PHOTO COURTESY OF STARBUCKS
